Posted on 05/17/2005 8:15:29 PM PDT by Krankor
This morning we carried the report of newly-minted Columbia MBA Wes Martin on the speech given by PepsiCo president and chief financial office Indra Nooyi at the MBA recognition ceremony this past Sunday. Here is the statement that PepsiCo Director of External Relations Elaine Palmer forwarded to us in response:
Thank you for checking with us on Indra Nooyi's speech at Columbia. We saw the item on your blog and are shocked to see that you took Ms. Nooyi's comments to be anything but pro-American and supportive of the United States and its role as a global leader. The characterization of Ms. Nooyi's remarks could not be more off the mark. No one is prouder of the U.S. than Ms. Nooyi, who has elected to make this country her home. Ms. Nooyi was simply encouraging the U.S, and Americans to be all they can and should be, which is something we all strive towards.
In her remarks Ms. Nooyi stated:
This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, The United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg-up in global business since the end of World War 1...
This land we call home is a most-loving, and ever-giving nation -a 'promised land' that we love dearly in return. And it represents a true force that - if used for good - can steady the hand - along with global economies and cultures.
We encourage you to set the record straight and explain that Ms. Nooyi was talking to the students about the necessity of working together in the world.
We're happy to publish Ms. Palmer's message, but we're not impressed. (See also the update posted by Enlighten here at the site Enlighten-New Jersey.) In a telephone conversation I asked Ms. Palmer for a copy of Ms. Nooyi's speech. She said she didn't want me to be able to quote selected excerpts from it to prove a point. I said that what she had forwarded to me were precisely such excerpts. She responded that she had not received permission to forward the text of the speech. I requested that she ask for permission. Unless and until PepsiCo produces the text of what was, after all, a public speech, one cannot help but treat its protestations skeptically.
In any event, we also carried the message from Rayne Steinberg, who attended the ceremony in honor of his brother. Steinberg seconded Martin's report. I spoke with Martin twice; he stated that his parents had traveled from Dallas to attend the recognition ceremony. He reported that his parents supported his recollection of the speech and shared his feelings about it.
We have also received a report from Hadar Weiss, another one of the graduating Columbia Business School students. Weiss wrote:
My name is Hadar Weiss, and I was at the ceremony because I am graduating.
I can also confirm that Wes gave you an accurate rundown of [Ms. Nooyi's] remarks. It was especially odd given her opening remarks and the type of audience she was addressing. Columbia’s Graduate School of Business draws a vastly international student body, and many of the American students have extensive travel and international work experience. All of the other students and their parents with whom I’ve discussed the issue feel that her message was incredibly misplaced, and an improper point to make at that juncture. In fact, later that evening I remarked to one Canadian student that his country and Mexico were both removed from my middle finger and we both chuckled.
Regardless of the offensive nature of her comments, I don’t think there will be any fall out for Ms. Nooyi personally or for PepsiCo.
I think it's fair to say at the least that if Ms. Nooyi sought to convey a message of cultural sensitivity to benighted Americans, she might have been wise to begin by respecting their own sensitivities on a ceremonial occasion. Regardless of her express message, she does not seem to realize that she is a walking refutation of the critique of America that she apparently meant to make out. Posted by Scott at 07:59 PM
Wanna bet?
Apparently Pepsico is getting inundated with calls and emails.
I wouldn't want to be a shareholder right now.
Now that I read the entire speech, I can see that she should be in deep doodoo. At the very least, she made a serious error in judgment, and should be smacked down in an appropriate corporate way. At worst, she revealed a dark and subversive view of this nation, and should be forced to resign.
Affirmitive action?
As if the fact that they sponsor Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson isn't reason enough to NOT drink putzie cola!
That was my first thought.
Let's see how fast Hendrick Motorsports will start exerting pressure for Ms. Nooyi to apologize for her remarks.
If America is the world's middle finger, then Ms. Nooyi's speech proves that she's the world's anus.
Let's hope the Mormons dump alot of that Pepsi stock they own.
Especially nice was her requirement that Americans thank China for inventing the hole in the floor as superior to the Bold Look of Kohler.
Sorry, Pepsi, the Bold Look of Holer is counter to consuming Pepsico product.
You should have FReepmail
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